Prolegomena Questions
1. Please explain the term Prolegomena. Why is a study of Prolegomena important? Prolegomena is the study of "First Things." By studying Prolegomena, Christians can understand the very foundation of their beliefs. All ensuing beliefs of a Christian come from Prolegomena, what he believes already. Prolegomena is irrefutable truth that doesn't need to be proved. --Joseph 2. What are the weaknesses of the "Comparative Religion" approach to first things? The Comparative Religion approach to first things has a terrible flaw. First, it places all religions on the same level with Christianity. Man cannot have an objective and consistent view of all religions. Man is not omniscient and is subject to mental errors and limited intelligence. The Bible says that Christianity is the true religion, and all others are under the genus of false religion. --Joseph 3. What are the weaknesses of the "Natural Theology" approach to first things? While the "Natural Theology" approach can be quite effective in affirming the existence of a God, it cannot solely lead to the God of the Bible. Man is fallen--we are incapable of finding God's ultimate truth and reaching saving faith with Him on our own. True conversion and understanding of God's character and person requires special revelation from God. --Emily 4. Where do we begin in our study of theology? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach? Is this the approach that seems most compelling to you? We begin our study of theology with the Primacy of Scripture meaning our starting apriori argument is the authority of Scripture. The weakness of this argument from a certain point of view is that one is assuming the veracity of Scriptures to prove the existence of God. By having the Scriptures as the basis of one's belief, he is automatically stating that he believes God exists and that the Bible is His holy word to us. Yet at the same time, this is the approach's strength. Christianity cannot be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt; if it could be, then man could come to Christ apart from God. The Lord must reveal Himself and His truths to man before man can believe. Thus, when we assume the authority of Scripture as our starting point, we are relying on the faith which God has given us. All beliefs have basic apriori arguments which cannot be proved, so that in itself cannot dismantle the approach. Intellectually, this can cause the approach to be unsatisfactory. Man would much prefer to be able to use Natural Theology and figure it all out on his own. But, the beauty of this approach is the necessity of relying on Christ, and in the end, that makes it more compelling than the rest. --Emily 5. Please list and explain three of the implications of starting with the scriptures as your first principle. There are numerous implications that coincide with starting with the Scriptures as your first principle. The first necessary assumption is that the Bible is God's complete written revelation to His people. There are no missing books or incomplete sections of God's holy word; rather, it is His finished letter to us. Another thing that you are assuming is that the Bible is faultless. The Bible, being God's words to us, must be infallible because we have already established that we believe God is infallible. Yet another implication of beginning with Scriptures is that it is understandable. God used human authors to pen His words; in this way He has spoken to man in man's own language making the Bible's message comprehendible to His creation. --Emily 6. What does it mean to say that the Scriptures are inerrrant and infallible? --John 7. What is the difference between the Neo-Orhodox view of inspiration and the Orthodox view of plenary inspiration? --John 8. What is the inherent weakness of "proofs" for God's existence? --Julia 9. What is the difference between General Revelation and Special Revelation? --Julia 10. Please list 3 ways through which God gave his Special Revelation. What is the climax of all Special Revelation? --Julia